Average Everyday Superhero
by Electra126
Summary: A Veronica Mars and Buffy The Vampire Slayer Crossover. After being saved from the grasps of Liam Fitzpatrick by one of his own family members, Veronica finds herself questioning the girl and their unlikely friendship. Veronica/Faith.
1. Chapter 1

**Rating:** NC17 (Will be edited appropriately to conform to the guildelines of this site; the unedited version will be up at my website).

**Pairing:** Faith/Veronica, Faith/Buffy, Veronica/Logan? (just a teeny bit)

**Summary:** A Veronica Mars/Buffy The Vampire Slayer Crossover. After being saved from the grasps of Liam Fitzpatrick by one of his own family members, Veronica finds herself questioning the girl and her growing attraction to her.

**Timeline:** Roughly three years Post-Chosen; Midway through Veronica Mars Season 2. Most of what you know in VM season 2 hasn't happened. Veronica is single, though Logan is still pining over her. The only thing we know for sure is that the Fighting Fitzpatrick's are getting more and more powerful, Weevil and the PCHers are about to declare war, and Veronica is smack dab in the middle of it.

**Note:** I'm COMPLETELY changing most of what we know about Veronica Mars - Season 2. More will be explained as the story continues, so bear with me for a while if you will. :) This is my first foray into writing Veronica Mars, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. :)

* * *

**Chapter One**

Standing outside the all too familiar and intimidating bar, Veronica Mars took a deep breath and steeled herself. History classes at Neptune High had taught her that the River Styx, according to Greek mythology, was a river that formed a boundary between Earth and the Underworld.

Thousands of years later, it still held the same basic idea. Walking through those doors would bring her face to face with members of the Fighting Fitzpatrick's, Neptune's criminal underworld. Sure there was less fire and brimstone and a complete lack of three-headed guard dogs, but the threat of violence and possible death remained imminent.

Veronica didn't want to go inside. Her past experiences there reminded her of that much. She knew that bad things would probably happen – to her, of course – but she needed to see Molly Fitzpatrick before Weevil got his hands on her. She just hoped that Molly's uncles, specifically Liam Fitzpatrick, weren't around to witness her visit.

Exhaling loudly, Veronica stepped forward and opened the door, her other hand clutched tightly around her bag and the taser hidden within it.

Several patrons were scattered throughout the bar, some sitting on barstools having a drink, some playing pool, and some gathered around a colored TV showing the big Notre Dame game. A few people noticed her entrance but immediately turned back to what they were doing.

Gazing quickly around the bar, Veronica looked for Molly or any sign that she was there. Just as she spotted the blonde clearing empty glasses from a table at the back of the bar, she felt a heavy hand grasping her shoulder.

"Well, well, well. Veronica Mars. Fancy meeting you here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we revoke your membership?"

Veronica turned to come face to face with Liam Fitzpatrick, one of the few people who actually managed to physically scare her. Defenses up, she turned to what she knew best.

"I'll have you know that my mother's mother was one half Irish. We're practically related! Figured I'd come on down, have a beer, get a tattoo . . . you know, get to know the fam."

Her sarcastic ramble was cut short as Liam put his hand on her other shoulder and shook her violently, garnering her utmost attention.

"Don't insult me by suggesting a blood relation, Veronica. The only blood we share is gonna be your blood on my hands."

He pushed hard, sending Veronica crashing backwards into a nearby table. She didn't fall over, but she did manage to knock everything off the table and cause a loud ruckus.

By now, everyone in the bar was watching.

Holding up her hands in submission, Veronica regained her composure.

"Mental note for next time: sarcasm kills. Listen, I'm not here to fight or to cause any trouble. I just need to talk to Molly . . ."

"Molly doesn't need to hear anything you have to say," Liam interrupted, getting back up in her personal space. "Molly needs to stop getting involved with rich-bitch wanna-bees and get back to doing her job!"

He yelled the last part, shifting his attention to Molly who had been stepping closer to them. Molly quickly turned and went back behind the bar, keeping her head down while doing her best to listen.

"You don't understand, she could be in danger . . ." Veronica tried again, hoping to appeal to his more sensible and protective side.

But with the way he lunged forward and grabbed her around her throat, she knew that Liam Fitzpatrick lacked the sensibility she was banking on.

"Danger? My baby cousin in danger, and you think that _you_ can protect her better than _we_ can?" Liam asked through clenched teeth, seething with anger.

She tried to speak, tried to move, but couldn't do anything but try to pull the tight hands that were cutting off her air supply from her neck. Just as she started to feel faint, Veronica heard a loud shout from across the bar.

"Liam!"

She looked out the corner of her eye to see a brunette girl quickly approaching, the case of beer she was carrying hastily placed on a table nearby. In the blink of an eye, Liam's hands were gone from her neck and she was being protectively kept behind the back of the girl who was now standing between her and Liam.

"What the fuck, Li? You're not supposed to be beatin' on chicks and you know that! What would Uncle Seamus say?"

"You leave my dad out of this, Fai! This girlie here is a particular brand of annoying and likes to stick her nose where it don't belong. She needs to learn a lesson about snooping on the Fitzpatrick's," Liam defended, his body shaking with rage.

"I was not snooping! I came here to help Molly!" Veronica spluttered defiantly as she tried to catch her breath.

"Right, like I don't know who your daddy is. Last warning here, Veronica Mars. You stay outta this bar and away from this family or you're gonna be wearing your graduation gown at your funeral."

Liam kicked over a table and made his way toward the back of the bar, leaving Veronica and the brunette girl there alone while the onlookers quickly went back to minding their own business.

"Let's get you outta here," the girl said, grabbing Veronica's elbow ever so gently and leading her over the debris and out the door.

"Who are you?" Veronica asked, still holding her quickly swelling neck.

"Me? I'm just your average everyday superhero."

Veronica glanced over at the girl and narrowed her eyes, not at all in the mood to play games. The glare was apparently understood, as the girl quickly continued.

"The name's Faith. We gotta get you an ice pack for that neck," Faith replied easily. She looked down the practically deserted street and toward an open shop across the way, ignoring the way that Veronica was staring at her.

"And you're a Fitzpatrick? Shouldn't you be pummeling me in an alley somewhere? Beating up a Mars is a rite of initiation in your family, or so I've been led to believe."

Faith chuckled as they made their way across the darkening street and into the small 24-hour grocery store. She stood on the tips of her toes to see over the shelves, searching out something in particular.

"Fitzpatrick, no. Close enough though. They're family, no matter how much I tried to sever the fucked up ties over the years."

She led Veronica over to the frozen food section and opened one of the freezer doors, pulling out a bag of peas. Veronica eyed her suspiciously but Faith did her best not to meet her eyes. Instead, she gingerly pulled one of Veronica's hands from her neck and pressed the bag of frozen peas to it, making Veronica jump.

"Hey, that's cold, you know!" Veronica said hoarsely, taking the bag from Faith's hands and holding it tentatively to her neck.

"Yeah, frozen stuff generally is," Faith said, meeting Veronica's gaze for the first time and offering her a wink. "That's gonna leave a nasty bruise. Keep a cold compress on it when you can and try to limit the solid foods for a day or two. Swallowing is gonna be a bitch."

Veronica swallowed, already feeling the tightness in her throat when she did so. There was no way she was going to be able to pass this one off to her father as a hickey, especially since she'd been single for more than a month now.

"Why are you helping me?" Veronica asked, truly perplexed. "Liam will come through with the death threats if he finds out about this."

Faith smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Liam's a dangerous guy, but I can handle him. And just cos he's family doesn't mean I agree with what he does, or the rest of those idiots in there, too. My aunt – his mother – called me and said things were gettin' a little out of hand with the guys, so I came here to help out, try to keep things in check."

It didn't make sense. The Fighting Fitzpatrick's weren't known for being sensible. Having more than one person within their ranks that was rational and not made of evil confused Veronica even more than she was willing to admit.

"You're risking your own life to make sure they don't go all crazy-like? Why would you do that? You seem so . . . well, not crazy," Veronica said, walking slowly with Faith toward the front of the store.

Faith shrugged, sliding her hands deep into the pockets of her jeans.

"One – cos they're family. And two, well," Faith paused for a moment, "guess I've been on the more violent side of these kinda violent conflicts and I know what it's like. They're too conniving to land in jail, so I figure I can play warden for a while, try to keep the violent acts to a minimum. Besides, I've got some of my own atoning to do. A friend thought maybe it would help me."

Veronica looked over at Faith, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Right, so you were crazy but you're not any more, and now you're here to preach to the crazy choir and hope they learn from your own crazy mistakes?"

Faith seemed to consider that and nodded, "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Sounds crazy to me," Veronica concluded as they reached the checkout.

Faith pulled a handful of small bills from her pocket and tossed them on the counter. The cashier looked suspiciously at the bag of peas on Veronica's neck and then took the money, giving Faith a bit of change back.

"Yeah, well, can't say I haven't been called crazy before." Faith said with a shrug, then turned to meet Veronica, a serious look on her face. "Listen, this is where I come off all big and bad and you heed the ominous warning, 'kay? Liam is every bit as crazy and dangerous as you've probably heard. Stay clear of the Styx and do your best to keep off his radar. He's gonna be gunnin' for ya now, V, and I can't be there every time he stumbles on ya."

Veronica sighed, pulling the bag of peas down from her neck.

"I wasn't here to pick a fight with Liam. I know that my razor-sharp wit, as lethal as it may be, is nothing compared to his razor-sharp blades. I came to tell Molly to keep a low profile. Weevil – a PCH-er that you really don't want to get involved with – is asking questions about the murder of one of his boys. He found a paper trail connecting Molly to Felix, and he's out to get answers from her one way or another."

Faith narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw shut tightly.

"This guy, Weevil; Hispanic guy, shaved head, lotsa tattoos and even more attitude?"

"Got it in one," Veronica said, her interest piqued. "You know him?"

"You could say that. Liam has it out for the guy. Now you say he's after my baby cousin and I can kinda see why he's on the naughty list. Whatever. I'll let Molly know the gist."

"Thanks," Veronica said uneasily.

They made their way out of the shop and into the street where they both paused awkwardly. Veronica's car was just down the block, but she felt she needed to say something more to Faith. She'd saved her life, after all.

"Listen, I just want to thank . . ."

"Stop while you're ahead," Faith interrupted, grinning. "I stepped in to stop Liam from making a mistake. Saving the hottie in distress was only a bonus. You don't owe me. We're five by five."

Being called a hottie by the grinning girl in front of her was enough to fluster Veronica's usually impregnable cool. Fighting the blush that she knew was creeping up on her cheeks, she brought the bag of frozen peas back up to her neck and smiled.

"And here I was about to thank you for buying me dinner," she joked, indicating the bag of peas. "Is cockiness a Fitzpatrick family trait?"

"Nope, but good looks are," Faith said with a wink as she took a few steps backward into the empty street.

"You make up in looks for what you lack in modesty, I see," Veronica joked.

"Gonna pretend I didn't hear the jab you took at me and focus on the part where you called me a hottie too."

Veronica laughed, unable to keep the smile from her face. Five minutes earlier she was being choked by Liam Fitzpatrick, and here she was having a battle of wits with his cousin.

Yes, something strange was definitely in the air in Neptune this night.

And she couldn't be sure, but she was pretty sure she was being flirted with. Unsettling, sure, but weirder things _had_ happened to her before.

Turning around to leave, Veronica suddenly realized something. She turned back and called out to Faith.

"How do I find you if I need to give any more messages to Molly?"

"You do what I told ya to – keep off the radar and stay outta this neighborhood – you won't see me again. And I really hope ya won't, V, cos I don't know how many times I can save your ass before it starts gettin' old."

Veronica nodded, understanding fully what Faith meant. The next time Faith saw her, it would probably be under some kind of bad circumstances. As much as Veronica wanted to help people, she needed to learn where to draw the line and keep herself safe first.

"Right. Well . . . later, Faith."

Turning around again, Veronica quickly made her way down the street and to her car.

* * *

Faith watched as she walked away, a playful grin on her face.

"Tiny, blonde, cute, and quick with the wit. Just my kind of poison."

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and let it out slowly.

When she'd heard about her family troubles, she thought it was the perfect escape; a way to get away from Buffy and the gang without them thinking she was abandoning them for the pursuit of pleasure. Sure they'd helped to clear her record and had let her tag along with them to LA, and most of them had even gone so far as to offer her an olive branch in the guise of a clean-slate in regards to their friendship.

Still, things were tense, especially when it came to Buffy. Everyone had to tread carefully around the two of them and Faith was getting sick and tired of feeling like she was always walking on broken glass around Buffy. Angel had told Faith to give her time; to keep working on her own journey and let Buffy deal with her own.

That was a bit difficult when Buffy always made it so easy to make Faith feel completely unwelcome. Finally having had enough, Faith told Angel about her family problems and took off to Neptune, just a couple hours drive away, to offer her help. Part of her redemption. She didn't say goodbye to anyone besides Angel despite his protests and she'd been doing well for the month that she'd been in Neptune.

Until tonight, that was, when she put her own neck on the line for yet another cute blonde.

Giving Veronica a quick wave as the girl drove past her, Faith sighed to herself. She'd left Los Angeles to get away from Buffy and the usual drama, and here she was faced with her carbon-copy.

God, she really seemed to have it in for herself.

Running a hand through her long hair, Faith took one last deep breath and made her way back to the bar. No way was Liam ever gonna let her live this one down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Four days had passed since Veronica's incident with Liam Fitzpatrick. She'd taken his cousin's advice and stayed away from the place and even went so far as to stay away from Molly at school. The last thing she needed was for Liam to find out that she was talking to her behind his back. She didn't think her neck could take any more damage.

She was pretty sure she owed her continued existence to Faith. Who knew how far Liam would have gone had she not intervened? Veronica noticeably shivered at the thought, wondering exactly how her father would react to finding out that his daughter was in the hospital or worse.

Realizing that someone had entered the café and was waiting to be seated, she grabbed a few menus and turned around to see Faith standing there, hands buried deep in the pockets of her blue jeans and a big grin on her face.

"You're quite the daydreamer, V. Been standing here for like three minutes."

Veronica smiled and placed all but one of the menus back onto the pile.

"I'll have you know that I wasn't daydreaming, I was musing. There's a fine but noticeable difference."

"Care to educate me?"

Veronica began to walk into the café and indicated for Faith to follow her with a quick nod of her head.

"A daydream is when you get caught up thinking about something good, possibly about something you're hoping for the future. I like to daydream about the shiny new Lamborghini I know my father will never buy me. Musing, as I was doing, is thinking about things that already happened and reflecting on them."

Faith sat down at the two-person table Veronica had led her to and shrugged, looking up at the girl. For reasons Veronica couldn't explain, she felt ease with her which was something new; her first instinct was usually to doubt and keep at arm's length.

"Kinda seems like fancy words for the same thing," Faith said, relaxing back in the chair. She glanced down at the menu and suddenly looked puzzled. "What the hell is a scone?"

Veronica couldn't help but laugh loudly, forgetting for a moment that her throat was still pretty sore. She brought one of her hands up to her neck and winced a little which Faith immediately took notice of.

"It's kind of this bread-ish pastry-ish, uhh, dessert type thing. But not exactly. You know what? I don't know. But we sell them and people tend to eat and enjoy them. Generally with tea or coffee."

"Ahh, coffee. I know what that one is. I'll take a large double-double and, uhh . . . yeah, scone me."

"Scone you?" Veronica asked, her eyebrows raised. "That would seem like an inappropriate request if we weren't in the middle of a café."

She stopped one of the waitresses that was walking by and gave her Faith's order, then glanced back at the door to make sure no one else was waiting to be seated. Finding the coast clear, she turned back to Faith and looked at her suspiciously, trying to hide her smile.

"So what's a girl like you doing in a place like this? You stalking me, lady?"

"How do you know I don't usually hang out in places like this?" At Veronica's laugh, Faith smiled guiltily. "Alright, fine. I don't. I asked Molly to find out where you work so I could come and check up on ya."

"Ahh, right. Because coffee shops are generally dangerous places. Hardened criminals have given up on cheap booze and loose women for overpriced coffee and open mic night," Veronica said sarcastically, quickly eyeing the door again for anyone waiting to be seated.

"Nah, it was more cos Liam nearly popped your head off like a dandelion the other night and I wanted to make sure ya weren't walking around like some kinda bobblehead," Faith said, her smile faltering just a little bit when Veronica's look became more serious. "Listen, it's not like I wanted to come in here and rain on your little parade if you're living in denial over it, but I don't wanna see a decent person like you all kindsa handicapped cos of my cousin's history of brainfarts."

"I know," Veronica said with a nod, looking down at her hands before looking into Faith's eyes again. "And I'm not living in denial. I'm just . . . frustrated. I can't talk to Molly, Weevil has a one-track mind, and if I can't get him to back off, the PCHers and your cousins are going to have a clash of epic proportions. I'm talking a cage match, no holds barred, and probably with a handy supply of lethal weapons to boot."

Veronica was visibly frustrated now, her smile long gone and replaced with a deep frown. For some odd reason she really did feel like it was up to her to stop this mess from getting even messier. Her dad couldn't know and getting the police involved would only bring a world of pain her way in the form of Liam and his flunkies.

The waitress walked over then with Faith's coffee and scone and set them on the table, taking notice of what appeared to be an intense conversation going on between Veronica and her friend.

"You can take your break, Veronica. Now's a good time, we're pretty slow."

"Thanks Marissa," Veronica said, putting on a fake smile. When she turned her attention back to Faith, the girl was looking at the seat across from her expectantly. Taking the hint, Veronica pulled the wooden chair out and sat down in it, wondering why exactly Faith had come there.

As good as the café's coffee was, Veronica knew that Faith hadn't stopped by for a tasty cup of joe and light conversation.

"Listen, I understand what you're sayin'. I ain't got no clue what your buddy Weevil is up to but I know my cousins are ready to crack skulls; they know he's digging around and they're ready to put a stop to it. I've been able to hold 'em back a bit but I can't keep 'em from actin' stupid forever. The bruise on your neck is proof of that."

"I already told you I'm fine," Veronica said, fighting the way her hand was trying to rub her still sore neck.

"Yeah, you're five by five," Faith said sarcastically. "Fact is, it's about to get ugly around here, V, and you're like a magnet for trouble. If you can't keep your head low, you need to get outta dodge for a while."

"Leave town?" Veronica asked incredulously.

"I was thinkin' it's the best option," Faith said with a shrug. "I've got some friends in LA. Pretty sure they'd be happy to have ya if ya need a place to crash 'til this all blows over."

Veronica laughed then, one of those laughs that was no doubt about to lead to a sarcasm festival. She watched as Faith seemed to brace herself for the tirade that was surely to follow.

"Oh sure, that sounds like a great idea. It's not like I need to graduate this year anyhow. I'm sure my father will be totally cool with it too. He's not overprotective; he doesn't make me drive around with a pitbull in my car. He didn't give me a taser for my eleventh birthday!"

"So what you're sayin' is it's a bad idea?" Faith asked, obviously trying to hide her grin. At Veronica's scoff she continued, "For what it's worth, didn't really think you'd go along with it anyway. Guess that leaves me with only one other option."

"You're gonna turn your criminal family over to the cops, give them lots of inside info, fix all of our problems at once?"

Faith laughed but then paused, mulling it over for a moment. "You really think that'd work?"

Could it possibly work? Liam and his flunkies could be taken down to the station and questioned for numerous reasons, Veronica was sure of that much. There would be no reason to hold them though, not without some kind of concrete evidence of naughty shenanigans, and then Faith would be in trouble when they got out. As much as having the Fighting Fitzpatrick's off the streets for even twenty-four hours sounded good, it wasn't worth risking Faith's well-being.

"No," Veronica finally said, deflated.

"Right. Well, guess that makes me your personal escort then."

Veronica raised her eyebrow at that, not sure of she'd heard correctly. "My . . .?"

"Personal escort," Faith finished for her. "And not the kind you pay $500 to take you out for dinner and dirty dancin' either."

"And here I was already planning what shoes to wear with my Gucci dress."

"Don't let me stop you from wearin' any kind of cute dress, blondie," Faith said with a smirk. When Veronica narrowed her eyes at her, she continued. "Listen, I'm gonna try really hard not to cramp your style, ok? Fact remains that Weevil and my cousins are both out there lookin' for each other and probably for you too if we're bein' honest. 'Til all this blows over, consider me your shadow."

Veronica eyed her suspiciously. "I'm feeling very Whitney Houston circa The Bodyguard."

"Good, let's go with that," Faith said easily. "Where you go, I go." At Veronica's raised eyebrow, she corrected, "Not gonna follow you into the bathroom or anything kinky, V. Not even gonna hang around and make you wiggy. When you go from home to school or work to home though? I'm there with ya."

Veronica just watched Faith for a few moments, waiting for the girl to give up this hilarious game or for a hidden camera crew to pop out from behind her. None of that ever happened though. Faith waited for her response for a while before getting distracted by the scone that the waitress had set before her during their conversation. She was currently busy chewing away, making satisfied little grunting noises as she chased it down with a few sips of hot coffee.

"You're right, this thing is pretty good," Faith mumbled with her mouth almost full.

"So this is really happening then?" Veronica finally asked, both of her eyebrows raised. "You decide to follow me around and then you just eat your scone like that's something normal people are generally okay with?"

Faith nodded her head like it was indeed no big deal and finished her mouthful before taking one more sip of coffee and continuing.

"Hey, I gave you another option but you had to go and get all responsible on me. I saw what Liam did to you and I've heard stories about Weevil's tendency to be a douchenozzle; you actually think I'm gonna let either one of them get the jump on ya? You should know me better than that."

"Actually, it's funny you should say that. I don't know you at all, Faith! If you're really Liam's cousin you're probably the last person I should be trusting right now."

"Maybe ya shouldn't, but I haven't given you a reason to think I'm lyin' yet, have I?" Faith asked. At Veronica's headshake, she continued, "And, hey V? Pretty sure we're not normal people to begin with. I mean, I know I'm not for sure. Weird shit like this should all be old hat for you by now."

"That's for sure," Veronica said after a moment's pause, watching as a group of her classmates walked by them, not even taking notice of her existence.

"So what time does your shift end?"

Faith took the last of her scone and popped it into her mouth, chewing it enthusiastically. It was obvious that she didn't plan on sticking around long, which was a good thing because Veronica's break would be over soon and the last thing Veronica wanted to worry about was keeping Faith entertained while waiting for nine o'clock to arrive.

If she was being honest with herself, Veronica had no idea how this girl was going to get her out of this mess. Still, she didn't think she'd be able to weasel her way out of Faith's grasp now that the girl seemed intent on keeping her safe.

That didn't stop her from making one last-ditch effort to try to keep Faith from getting even more involved though.

"So you can come back for more tasty coffee? We're open between 7am and 11pm so feel free to pop in whenever you like regardless of if I'm your helpful hostess or not," Veronica said easily as she began to stand from her chair.

"Bonus points for avoiding the question," Faith said, grinning. "And thanks for the info but it's not what I'm lookin for. Not that I didn't enjoy the coffee and sconey goodness but I'm more of a jelly donut and glass of milk kinda gal."

And again Veronica found herself looking at Faith, waiting for some kind of sign that she was joking. Faith looked back at her and raised an eyebrow as she waited for her answer.

"You're really serious about this whole bodyguard thing?"

"Dead serious. Pretty sure you should just take me up on it too. I'm not the kinda girl you want lurkin' around in the shadows."

And while Veronica wanted to question that, she didn't want to get any further into it while surrounded by random patrons and co-workers. She was already the weird girl; she didn't need any more disadvantages in the social interaction department.

"Fine. I'm off at nine and then I'm supposed to run an errand for my Dad. Really though, I was serious about the taser. I'll be fine on my own . . ." her words got quieter and eventually stopped as she noticed Faith standing up and tossing a few bills onto the table with a grin on her face, obviously ignoring her protests.

"See ya at nine, Veronica."

Before Veronica could say anything else, Faith was halfway to the door and not bothering to look back. She was pretty sure that had Faith looked back she could have swayed her with the good ol' Mars Puppy-Dog Eyes routine, but Faith was obviously on to her game.

No, this was going to have to play out the way that Faith wanted it to. Truth be told, Veronica was a bit happy to have an extra person on her side and looking out for her. Of course her dad was on her side but he didn't know about any of this and he'd probably send her off to LA himself if he found out.

That was the last thing Veronica wanted to happen though. Neptune was falling further and further down a downward spiral into gang wars and violence and she felt it was her personal mission to stop it before the entire town hit rock bottom. This was _her _town with _her _memories and_ her _future.And besides, what would the 09-ers do if someone shattered their perfect little existence?

Veronica sighed and rolled her eyes as she heard a raucous group of said 09-ers laughing from their corner table across the room.

So this was what her life had come to: personal escorts and protecting people who didn't need nor want her protection. Shaking her head, she walked back over to her stand and plastered on a fake smile to the group of people waiting to be seated.

Life just didn't get much more interesting than this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note:** My apologies for slacking. I was distracted by other stories. Hope you enjoy this one :)

* * *

**Chapter Three**

It was just about quarter to nine when Veronica spotted her manager standing behind the counter. She left her post at the door since no one was waiting for a table and made her way over, hoping that her plan would work.

"Excuse me, Amanda?" When her manager looked up, Veronica smiled. "I was hoping that I might be able to leave a bit early. We're not exactly busy and I have a history paper due tomorrow that I haven't even started typing yet, and I . . ."

"It's okay, Veronica, you can leave," Amanda said pleasantly enough. "School comes first, especially if you want to stay in the running for the Kane Scholarship. Get going, we'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks so much," Veronica gratefully replied.

She turned around and made her way back to the hostess podium and took off her vest, stashing it on the shelf under it and grabbing her bag from where she usually hid it away. After checking her cell phone for messages – there were none – she tucked it in her pocket and slung her bag over her shoulder.

She was close enough to the front entrance to poke her head through it and take a glance up and down the street. There didn't appear to be anyone out and about except for a group of 09ers who were in the parking lot across the street, sitting on the back of their convertible and laughing at whatever lame jokes she was sure they were telling.

Surely at least one of those jokes had to be about her.

Narrowing her eyes, she glared at them for just a brief moment before checking out the street one more time.

She couldn't believe it; the coast was clear. Faith hadn't come back for her yet. She'd be out of there before Faith even showed up at nine.

Smiling to herself, Veronica walked out the door and down the two steps and headed toward her car parked just a few spaces away. She didn't get more than ten steps before she heard the sound of heavy shoes on the sidewalk in step with her. Five steps later and she saw someone stride up alongside her, smiling just like she had been ten seconds before.

"Don't tell me you really thought ya could just stroll outta here without your escort," Faith said easily.

"Unfortunately for me, I did," Veronica admitted. "I don't supposed you'd willingly submit to wearing a tracking device so I can, you know . . . track and avoid?"

Faith chuckled and buried her hands deep in her pockets. "Sorry V, you're not gonna get rid of me that easy. I'll try not to cramp your style though."

Now it was Veronica's turn to laugh. "Clearly you're not familiar with my reputation." She turned and faced Faith and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Veronica Mars, the number one object of ridicule in all of Neptune. Cramping my style? I don't think it's possible."

Faith took Veronica's hand and shook it. "The name's Faith; the last name's just a formality. I've been the outcast since '98 so I've got a few years on ya in the freak department."

"Ahh, kindred souls," Veronica replied sarcastically and pretended to swoon.

"Sounds like. Guess this escort business will work out just fine then. I'll be outta your business once you're home safe and sound and you can call me when you're ready to leave in the morning."

"Is that how this will work?" Veronica asked.

"It's that or LA."

"Why are you so intent on making my safety your business?" Veronica asked without a hint of malice. "I'm really just having a hard time understanding why a perfect stranger is going out of her way like this."

Faith shrugged. "Helping people is what I do. Besides, it's my family that's messing with you. Them and that motorcycle gang, anyway. Until I can find a way to straighten out the fam, I'm gonna make sure they don't make things shittier for themselves by hurting you or worse."

"Ahh, so there _are_ ulterior motives," Veronica said, putting the puzzle pieces together.

"Well yeah, if you consider keeping my cousins from imploding and taking the town with them, sure. But besides that, well . . . you, uh, kinda remind me of someone."

"If you say a young Shirley Temple, I'm going to be very disappointed."

Veronica walked around to her side of the car unlocked the door but didn't get inside. Instead, she braced her arms up on the top of the car and looked over the top of it at Faith, who mimicked her gesture.

"Not exactly," Faith laughed, then shook her head. "It's just someone I knew for a while. Long story, doesn't really matter. Besides, you said ya gotta run an errand for your Pops, right?"

"Actually, I do. And I'm not exactly sure it's something you'll want to ride shotgun for. Could be dangerous."

"Danger is my middle name." Faith winked at Veronica and began to get into the passenger side of the car.

Veronica hesitated for a moment, looking up and down the dark street before eventually taking a deep breath and getting into the car as well. She looked over and found that Faith had made herself right at home, sitting comfortably in the bucket seat with one foot propped up at the base of the door.

"Well now I know your first and middle name. When do I find out the rest?" Veronica asked.

Faith grinned. "Ain't gonna happen, V. Your Pops is a professional snoop and I have no doubt you'll be researching me like a proper Scooby chick. It's better for both of us if we avoid that."

Veronica eyed her warily. "Just tell me that you're not some kind of violent criminal."

Faith's jaw clenched and she continued looking straight ahead, avoiding Veronica's gaze.

"Oh boy," Veronica said under her breath. She gripped onto the steering wheel and looked out the windshield, then back at her passenger. Faith hadn't given her any reason as of yet not to trust her. She was offering help in what could be a scary situation and wasn't asking for anything in return. "Okay. It's fine. You're helping me and I appreciate that. Clean slate."

"Thanks," Faith murmured.

"Just give me a warning if you're feeling a relapse coming on? I may be vertically challenged but I can run like the dickens."

Veronica looked over at Faith and noticed the corner of her lips curve up in a small smile.

"Fair enough," Faith replied, then cleared her throat. "So where we headed?"

Grateful for the subject change, Veronica started the car and pulled out the parking space. She grinned and tilted her head to the side.

"One of my father's clients thinks that her husband is having an affair with a woman unknown." She reached down between the seats and pulled up a camera with a telephoto lens. "We need proof."

"So what, you've gotta score some pics?" At Veronica's nod, Faith asked, "How the hell are you supposed to know where he is?"

Veronica's grin grew even bigger. "Have I mentioned that the woman in question is an exotic dancer?"

Faith smiled wide.

* * *

It was nearly two hours later and Veronica was trying to keep focused on the building across the street from her parked car and not on the girl fidgeting next to her.

"This sucks," Faith said gruffly. "You have to spy on a stripper but you can't even go inside and get a drink?"

"Apart from me being eighteen and not exactly able to drink, this isn't quite my scene," Veronica replied. The front door of the strip club opened and she quickly looked through the viewfinder of the camera but was disappointed when she saw it was just a group of rowdy college guys.

"Why the hell not?" Faith asked. "Who doesn't like strip clubs?"

"Are you saying you do?" Veronica asked. "It's a female strip club, I'll have you know."

Faith shrugged. "I'm an equal opportunity ogler."

"Huh," Veronica said evenly. "I'm just going to tuck that little snippet away in the same box where I'm keeping the fact that you're a Fitzpatrick and a likely criminal."

"You do what you gotta do, V. Speaking of which," Faith nodded toward the club. "That your guy?"

Veronica quickly faced the building again and brought up her camera. Sure enough, one of the dancers was exiting the club draped around a middle-aged man in an old business suit. He looked completely out of place there, but when she watched them get into his brand new fully-loaded BMW, she realized why the dancer was likely with him.

She snapped a series of shots and then lowered the camera, trying to act casual as the man and woman drove past them and down the street with the car radio blasting loudly.

"We following them?" Faith asked.

"Nope, we're done."

"Seriously? You're getting paid for that?" Faith asked in disbelief.

"Yep. The client has a pre-nup with an infidelity clause. Luckily for my impressionable mind, I don't need to get shots of them doing the dirty. Just them kissing and leaving together is money shot enough."

Faith thought about it for a few moments and then whistled long and low. "Shit, I'm in the wrong field."

Veronica smiled while she tucked the camera away and then started the car. She was about to pull away from their parking spot when suddenly a figure appeared next to her window and rapped loudly on it. Veronica jumped but settled down when she saw who it was. Sighing, she rolled down her window and plastered on a fake smile, completely unaware of how Faith was reacting aside her.

"Was I speeding, officer?"

"We need to talk, Veronica," Weevil said. He looked serious. He looked angry. He looked . . . confused?

And then he was back to angry, his face pressed against the back window.

Veronica's eyes widened when she realized that Faith had slipped from the car and was now holding Weevil against it with one arm held tight behind his back. Both he and Veronica winced when Faith pressed roughly against him again.

"Oh boy," Veronica said again. She unbuckled her seatbelt and slipped out of the car, feeling both enjoyment and an impending sense of doom when she looked at the spectacle before her. "You should let him go, Faith."

"Yeah, you should let him go, _Faith_," Weevil spat out.

"Like hell I should," Faith said with a grunt as Weevil struggled. "This clown ain't up to no good. Anything he says is just gonna pull you further into this mess."

"Faith, it's okay," Veronica said. "Weevil is a friend. A screwed up, troublesome friend, but a friend nonetheless."

"You might want to listen to the girl," Weevil grunted, steeling a backwards glance at Faith. "Yunno what they say. A friend of a friend is . . ."

"My bitch?" Faith finished with a feral grin, then pushed off of him and took a step back so that he could right himself. "And you ain't a friend. A friend wouldn't get her mixed up in the middle of a gang war."

"Well a friend don't have much choice at this point," he spat back, rotating his now sore shoulder around. "The cops think they already found Felix's killer so they ain't interested in hearing alternative theories. I need solid proof."

Sadly, Veronica understood Weevil's problem. The Neptune Police Department wasn't exactly known for making the best decisions as of late. Sheriff Lamb wasn't exactly a reasonable guy and as far as he was concerned, he'd already found the guilty party. He had no reason to listen to someone like Weevil or Veronica unless they had solid proof, and even then he might not be interested in playing nice.

Typical Sheriff Lamb.

"It's too risky," Veronica said, shaking her head. Weevil looked over at her and she met his gaze sadly. "The Fitzpatricks are hiding something, the PCHers are hiding something, and if I step in the middle, I'm going to get caught up right in the middle. Weevil, I'd love t help but . . . I can't."

The intense silence that followed was broken by the sound of motorcycles roaring down a nearby street. Faith's eyes flickered in the darkness and then she looked over to Veronica.

"Time to go, Veronica," she said.

Veronica nodded and stood still while Faith skittered around the car and into the passenger seat. She stole a glance up at Weevil who was looking at her, his anger replaced by disappointment.

"I can't do this alone, V," Weevil said.

Veronica looked down at her feet, then looked back up and sighed. "Get out while you still can, Weevil. I'll find out what I can't but don't expect any miracles."

He nodded his head and started slowly stepping backwards. "Thank you," he said, then turned around and disappeared into the night. Veronica watched the darkness for just a moment before slipping back into her car and heading out of there before any more trouble could find her.

* * *

They drove in silence until Veronica pulled into her parking spot just outside her apartment complex. She turned the car off and pulled out the keys, then rested her hands in her lap. There was so much going on in her head that she didn't even know where to begin.

Finally, she found a good place to start.

"Are you some kind of secret superhero?" she asked anxiously, her lips tugging up into a smile. "Because I've never seen Weevil man-handled like that, not even by a man – which you're not, in case you haven't noticed. I'll be honest; after the terror went away? It was a little bit enjoyable for me."

Faith smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I already told ya. I'm just your average everyday superhero. And since we're being honest, it was a little bit enjoyable for me too."

They shared a laugh but quickly became silent again.

"Listen," Veronica began when the silence started to get awkward. "I appreciate what you did back there, but you can't just go roughing up anyone who tries to talk to me if we want this little arrangement of yours to work."

"I know," Faith replied. "I just . . . I know who that guy is, remember? First thought was that he was gonna do something stupid to get info from ya."

"Weevil won't hurt me," Veronica replied, shaking her head. "He may be a PCHer but he would never hurt someone who doesn't deserve it."

Faith nodded her head and then looked over at Veronica, her face solemn. "So what if he decides you deserve it?"

Veronica held her gaze for a moment and then looked back down at her lap, her lips tight as she thought it over.

"That's why I'm here, Veronica," Faith continued. "I'm working on my cousins. They'll have to back off eventually, one way or another. If they stop covering shit up, maybe the cops can find out what really happened to that kid taken down on the bridge. Until then, just keep away from it all."

"I can't make any promises," Veronica said quietly.

Faith sighed, then straightened up in her seat. "Alright. Then we keep this up. What time do you leave for classes in the morning?"

While Veronica wanted to tell her no, she knew there was no use in fighting over it. Besides, having Faith around might come in handy, especially now that she knew that Faith wasn't some kind of lightweight.

"Seven-fifteen."

"Holy . . . seven-fifteen? Who actually wakes up that early?"

"Only half the known world," Veronica replied easily.

"Well shit. No wonder I dropped out. Alright, I'll be here at seven-fricken-fifteen."

Faith opened her door and stepped out. Veronica followed suit and when she stood up and looked around, Faith was waiting with her back resting against the side of the car. She obviously wasn't going anywhere until Veronica was safe inside her apartment.

"See you in the morning," Veronica said as she slung her bag over her back and started to walk down the narrow sidewalk.

"Hey V?" Faith called out. Veronica turned to face her and waited expectantly. "Tell your Dad you're gettin' a ride. I ain't walkin' my sweet ass half way across town ten times a day."

She raised her arm and waved, then turned around and began walking down the darkened street. Veronica watched her go until she was out of sight, then sighed and started up the stairs to her apartment.

"Well this just keeps getting better and better."


	4. Chapter 4

**Note:** Sorry for the long wait. Thanks to everyone who has left feedback and sent messages asking for more. It inspires my muse to know that people are reading along =)

* * *

**Chapter Four**

It was seven-fifteen on the dot when Veronica left her apartment and walked down the stairs and toward the parking lot. Sure enough, there was a car there that wasn't familiar and sitting in the drivers seat was a tired-looking Faith. Veronica walked around to the passenger door and opened it to find a McDonalds bag waiting on her seat. She looked up to Faith who was busy scarfing down an Egg McMuffin and raised an eyebrow.

"You brought me breakfast?" she asked.

"Thought it'd be rude if I sat here chowing down and didn't bring anything for you."

"How considerate."

Veronica lifted the bag and sat down, closing the door behind her. When she was all settled in, she peeked inside the bag and found another Egg McMuffin and a hash brown. Her cup of coffee was already waiting in the cup holder.

"Got it with two sugars," Faith said. "Was gonna get you O.J. cos they say coffee stunts growth, but uh . . . I think that's already a lost cause with you, huh."

Veronica paused mid-bite and glared over at Faith.

"Size jokes already? Really?"

"Too early?" At Veronica's nod, Faith continued. "Fine, I'll save 'em for the way home."

They quietly ate their breakfast, Faith tucking away twice as much as Veronica did.

"Do you have any idea how long it's been since I got up early enough to have McDonalds breakfast?" Faith asked, not actually expecting an answer.

"How long?"

"Years. Plus it's not like they exactly served stuff like this in . . ." Faith stopped speaking and slowly chewed another bite of her sandwich, careful not to look in Veronica's direction.

Veronica was actively watching her now though, curious about her near slip up. She raised her eyebrow in question but Faith continued to ignore her.

"So, school?" Faith finally asked around a mouthful as she tossed the wrapper in the back seat.

"That's the plan. But first you might want to wave to my father so he doesn't think you're some kind of weird abductor who's force-feeding his only daughter take-out and stealing her away into the . . . day."

Faith looked up, her eyes wide, and spotted Keith looking down at them from the small balcony. She looked at Veronica who was busy waving, then looked back to her dad and gave a quick, awkward wave.

"I told him you're a new student," Veronica said and Faith sighed with relief. "If he were to start sniffing around and find out you're a Fitzpatrick, it would be the end of whatever this is. A little lie buys us some time."

"Yeah, just a _little_ lie," Faith said sarcastically as she began to back the car out of the spot.

"Trust me, it's easier this way."

"Well, you ain't given me a reason not to trust ya yet so I'm gonna believe whatcha say. I hope that goes both ways."

Veronica thought about it for a second and nodded. "It does. You're trying to keep me out of trouble and you're not benefitting from it so far as I can tell."

"I'm not," Faith said evenly, her gaze fixed on the road before them. "If I can keep my cousins outta trouble and you at the same time? I consider that a good day, even if you're draggin' me outta bed at the asscrack of dawn to do it."

"I ache for you, I really do," Veronica said playfully. "Sleeping in until noon and hanging out in a bar with a bunch of your drunk buddies all day must be really, _really_ tiring. How do you do it?"

"Years of practice," Faith replied with a grin.

They continued their light banter until they'd reached the school. Faith put the car in park but left it running, a clear and very relieving sign for Veronica that she wasn't about to follow her in and play shadow all day long.

"What time should I be back at?" Faith asked, her hands resting casually over the steering wheel at her crossed wrists.

She looked anything but casual though, her eyes fixed at some point across the school yard. Her jaw was clenched and Veronica fully expected to turn and see someone harpooning a baby seal off in the distance. Instead she saw Weevil standing at the front entrance, arms casually crossed over his chest as he stared over at them. There was no way of getting around it; he was waiting to talk to her.

"Class ends at two but I have a shift at Java The Hut at two-thirty. I can catch a ride with my friend Mac though so you don't have to be at my beck and call."

Veronica watched as Faith narrowed her eyes at Weevil but then glanced over at her, plastering on a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Ain't a big deal," Faith said. "Gonna go back home and catch a few more z's but I'll be back at two."

"Are you sure?" Veronica asked. She was starting to feel pretty guilty about this whole thing. It was pretty obvious that she was going to start cramping Faith's lifestyle pretty quickly.

Glancing back toward Weevil again, Faith nodded. "Positive."

"Alright. I'll see you at two."

Veronica got out of the car without saying anything else and closed the door behind her. She took a deep breath and steeled herself; unless she was going to walk around the school and go through the back entrance she had to walk right past Weevil. Just as she was about to take a step in his direction, she heard the car door open and close. She looked over and saw Faith stepping out of the car, not to talk to Veronica but to lean casually – or maybe threateningly – against the hood of the car. Faith's gaze was locked on Weevil and she copied his casual stance, her arms crossed over her chest and her biceps flexed to show their perfect definition.

Yep, definitely threateningly.

"Aren't you gonna be late?" Faith asked, not looking at Veronica as she addressed her.

"Yes, but I can't take the suspense of knowing if a Michael Jackson 'Beat It' dance off is about to go down. You can't possibly expect me to go and sit in Calculus if you're gonna be out here busting fresh moves with the locals."

And as she'd hoped would happen, Faith finally gave up her stare down with Weevil and looked over with an eyebrow raised.

"You sure you're only eighteen? You quip like a pro."

"It's a natural talent," Veronica replied with a playful shrug, then changed the subject. "The point of dropping someone off is that you get to leave once they're dropped off, you know."

"Yeah, I got the memo," Faith replied. "Leavin' soon as you do, chica."

Giving Faith a small wave, Veronica took a deep breath and began to walk up the long walkway that led to the entrance. When she reached the door where Weevil was standing and still hadn't heard the car pull away, she pressed her lips together tightly and tried to angle her body in a way so that Faith couldn't see her face.

"Glad to see your new girlfriend is the chivalrous kind," he said sarcastically.

"Oh Weevil, you're only bitter because I land hotter babes than you do," Veronica quipped, not bothering to get into a denial battle with him. Not with Faith watching them from the parking lot. "I'm working until eight-thirty tonight. If you need to talk to me, you'll have to come see me there."

She didn't bother to stick around for his reply. Even though she was supposed to be lying low and not getting involved with either the Fitzpatricks or the PCHers, she couldn't help but want to hear Weevil out. If there was any way she could stop the town from going down some kind of terrible spiral of badness, she was going to do whatever she could to do that.

Even if it meant keeping Faith in the dark just a little.

Feeling a bit guilty for giving Weevil an opportunity to speak to her without Faith being around, Veronica looked over her shoulder and at the old car still sitting in the parking lot. Faith was sitting inside of it now rather than leaning against it. The brunette gave her a long knowing look before nodding and taking off, disappearing from Veronica's sight in just a few moments.

Taking a deep breath, Veronica adjusted her backpack and entered the school.

* * *

Veronica walked out into the schoolyard at about quarter after two, having been held up by a teacher who wanted to speak to her about an assignment she'd handed in the day before. The buses full of students had left already and the usual commotion of the day had mostly died down. Only a handful of students lingered on the lawn and in the parking lot. She looked out into the lot for the car Faith had driven this morning but couldn't seem to pick it out among the others.

"Lookin' for me?" came a voice form off to her side.

Veronica looked over and saw Faith strolling across the lawn with a can of Pepsi in one hand and a half-eaten apple in the other. She looked every bit the casual student right down to her jeans and t-shirt.

"Looks like you were looking for me first," Veronica noted and Faith shrugged.

"Got here early. Got bored. Went for a stroll." She took another huge bite out of the apple and tossed the core into the metal garbage can to the side with a loud ping.

"You didn't happen to find Weevil on your stroll, did you," Veronica asked. "Because I'm pretty sure there's some kind of rules about not beating people up on school property."

"I didn't, but that's only because I couldn't find him," Faith winked. "He give you a hard time earlier?"

"Nope, not at all. He was waiting there for some other teenage detective," Veronica lied.

Faith studied her face but didn't say anything. If she knew Veronica was lying, she didn't say anything, but Veronica was sure it would come back and bite her on the ass at some point. Stuff like that always did.

"Uh-huh," Faith finally replied skeptically after a few moments. "You ready to go? Don't want you to be late for work on my account."

"Ready as ever," Veronica replied cheerfully.

They walked to the car in silence and pretty much stayed that way the entire way to the café. When they reached their destination Veronica noticed the motorcycle parked outside – Weevil's – and winced, hoping Faith hadn't noticed it. But as Faith pulled over to a parking spot rather than in front of the door and put the car in park, Veronica knew that Faith had indeed seen the motorcycle and that she had no intent of just leaning against the car and waiting this time.

"Faith, it's fine," Veronica began. "You don't have to come in; I can deal with him and send him on his way."

"Don't know what you're talkin' about," Faith said innocently though it was apparent she knew what Veronica had meant. "Just wanna get one of those tasty scones. No way was that apple enough."

Faith got out of the car, ignoring the pleading look Veronica was giving her. Veronica watched as she walked around and opened up her door, grinning down at her.

"C'mon, V. I'll behave, scout's honor."

"I highly doubt your scoutiness," Veronica mumbled as she stepped out of the car, letting Faith close the door behind her.

"But not my honor? Wicked," Faith replied with a chuckle. "This whole Good Samaritan deal is really workin out for me, huh."

"Like a charm," Veronica said. She heard Faith chuckle again as they began to walk toward the front entrance, bypassing the line of young people who were waiting to be seated.

She pulled her apron from her bag and tied it on before stashing her bag under the hostess podium. As Faith walked over to the counter and had a seat on one of the stools, Veronica grabbed a few menus and led the first group of people to a table at the far corner of the café. When they were seated and situated, she excused herself and turned to walk back to her station but came face to face with Logan and Weevil who were already seated at adjacent tables and waiting for her.

"What am I, flypaper for people who only ever need favors from me?" she asked aloud.

Weevil sat forward and put his elbows on the small round table, his gaze intense as he stared up at Veronica.

"You said to come see you at work if I had to talk to you. Well here I am, ready to talk."

"It'll have to wait for a few minutes, we're swamped," Veronica said, indicating the line at the door. "Order something. I'll be back around."

Not giving him a chance to argue with her, she made her way back over to the podium and grabbed a few more menus. More people had walked up while she'd been seating the previous group and the line was even longer now. Part of her was relieved for that; the longer she stayed busy, the longer she could avoid talking to Weevil and figure out what to do about Faith.

Stealing a nervous glance over to the counter, she noticed that Faith was sitting with her back against the counter, both elbows resting back on it as she glared in Weevil's direction. She looked like a rubber band that was about to snap. Not a good sign.

Sighing to herself, Veronica turned to the next group of customers and planted on a fake smile. She led them over to a nearby table of four and got them situated and when she looked up, she noticed that Faith was no longer at the counter. Quickly scanning the restaurant, she noticed that Weevil and Logan were still there which meant that Faith couldn't have scared them away yet.

When someone tapped on her shoulder, Veronica nearly jumped a mile high. She spun around quickly and came face to face with Faith who was grinning at her.

"Scare ya?" Faith asked.

"No, I regularly jump up in surprise for no reason whatsoever. Why aren't you silently stalking from the counter?"

"Because I need to silently use the bathroom first. Where can I find it?"

Veronica exhaled and ran a hand through her hair, then pointed to the door in the front corner of the shop where the employees entered the kitchen.

Faith thanked her and made her way through the crowded café, disappearing behind the door a few moments later. She noticed Weevil perk up, expecting his chance to speak to her, but instead she want back to the long line at the entrance and continued to seat people.

It took her about fifteen minutes to get caught up with the line at the door and clearing a few dishes off the tables, but when she was done she looked over to Faith who was back at the counter having some coffee and had been keeping tabs on her the whole time. She nodded her head toward the back corner where Weevil and Logan were still sitting and pretending not to know each other. Faith got the idea and nodded, then got up and made her way over to join her.

Why she hadn't thought of some rascally way to get rid of Faith so that she could talk to Weevil in private, she had no idea, but she figured it had something to do with their conversation about trust earlier. Now that she knew she had Faith's, she had to let Faith know that she had hers as well.

They met at the foot of Weevil's table and he looked up from his piece of pie, first at Faith and then at Veronica.

"You can call off your dog, Veronica. I'm not gonna bite," he said.

Faith bristled. "I'm sorry, did baldy here just call me a dog?"

"Of the female variety," Weevil added and Veronica had to put her hand on Faith's bicep to stop her from whatever she'd been about to do next.

"That's enough. I don't get paid to babysit, I get paid to investigate." She directed her attention toward Weevil. "I'd guess you have maybe two minutes before I'm pulled back to the mediocre world of hostessing. What've you got for me?"

Weevil glared at Faith for a second longer before looking up at Veronica. "I need you to bug the confessional at St. Mary's church."

Veronica did a double-take when she looked at him and chuckled aloud.

"I'm sorry, did you just tell me to go to hell? Because that's what's going to happen if I do that!"

"It's the only place the Fitzpatricks and the PCHers hang together," Logan said.

"Tall, dark and chinless has a point," Faith said thoughtfully. "Patrick ain't exactly involved in family politics but he has a laundry list of shit mistakes in his past."

"Who's Patrick?" Veronica asked, looking over to Faith.

"My cousin, and the priest at St. Mary's."

"Cousin? You're hanging out with the Fitzpatricks now, V?" Weevil asked, his face screwing up with distaste as he looked Faith up and down.

"It's . . . a thing," Veronica said, waving her hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. Why do you think it's him?"

Weevil sighed and took a deep breath. "Because it's the only thing that fits. You ever been to church, Veronica?"

"Actually I have, and I don't quite remember the priest handing out illegal drugs with the communion wafers!" She said, clearly frustrated.

"Which is where the confessional comes in," Weevil replied, his gaze unwavering as he glanced back at Veronica. "And the only way we can know for sure what's goin' on is if you bug it."

Veronica rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. Were it not for the reassuring hand Faith rested on her lower back, she may have just walked away in frustration.

"Listen, if you really think the PCHers are getting the drugs from Father Fitzpatrick, I'll help find out the truth, but there's a condition." When no one said anything, she continued. "No bug. I'll set up a camera but that's it. No audio or no deal."

No one said anything but Weevil and Logan shared a look, then Weevil looked up at Veronica and nodded.

"Confession is every day from four until six."

"It'll have to wait until my shift is over," she replied and then looked over at Faith. "Mind taking a detour on the way home so I can snoop on your family?"

"Easiest job I've had all day," Faith said with a wink.

Veronica smiled at her and, with the mission set and the conversation seemingly over, turned around and went back to work. Faith went back to her spot at the counter and stayed there all night long, sipping on coffee while waiting for Veronica's shift to end. She looked so calm and collected and Veronica had to wonder how she was managing that. They were about to head into the belly of the beast, or the throat at the very least, and she couldn't feel anything but fear and regret for agreeing to go in the first place.


	5. Chapter 5

**Note:** Sorry for the wait! I've finished my other in-progress stories so I'll mostly be working on this one now, along with some Glee/Brittana shorts. Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Feedback is always appreciated :)

* * *

**Chapter Five**

It was shortly after eight-thirty when Faith and Veronica reached St. Mary's. Even though it was well after confession time, the church was still open and the doors unlocked. Soon a few stragglers would start showing up for the nine-thirty evening mass so they had plenty of time to get in and out before they were noticed.

Faith parked the car just a few yards down the block and Veronica stepped out and onto the sidewalk. Faith joined her there just a few moments later, both of them pausing to look up at the old church.

"You look scared," Faith said and Veronica looked over to her, a wry smile on her face.

"Of the church, no. Of your family, well, yeah. This is their turf and you heard firsthand what Liam said to me back at the Styx."

"Well ya ain't gotta worry about that meathead, not when I'm around," Faith replied, then started leading them toward the front doors. "Besides, he only comes here during daylight hours. Thinks it looks better for him if he's seen here in public, not that he's usually worried about what people think of him."

She stopped on the top step and pulled the door open, waiting for Veronica to enter before her.

Veronica looked inside warily and then took a deep breath before stepping inside. She was surprised to find that the church wasn't completely empty. There were a few older women scattered amongst the pews, rosaries in hand and lips mumbling their silent prayers. Faith didn't seem fazed by them but their simple presence made Veronica want to abort the mission and get out of there before she was noticed and the news reported back to Liam.

But as Faith escorted her down the center aisle with a hand on her lower back guiding her along, Veronica noticed that the old women didn't even pay them any attention. In fact, she and Faith made it to the front of the church without so much as a single scoff or awkward look. They headed off to the side and stopped at a small alcove where a statue was surrounded by dozens of candles in yellow-tinted glass cups. Veronica watched as Faith popped a few coins in a brass box below the candles and then picked up a small stick, igniting it with one candle so she could light another ablaze.

"Grab a stick and light one up, V. Don't wanna stick out like a sore thumb, do ya?" Faith teased, but Veronica got the message.

She grabbed one of the small sticks from the holder and lit one end, then touched it to the wick of another candle. When she was finished she blew out the stick and set it down, then looked back up to the statue with an apologetic look upon her face.

"I'm sorry that I'm about to defile your church," she whispered to it, then reached out to pat its ceramic foot. The sound of Faith chuckling next to her caught her attention and she looked over at her, an eyebrow raised in question. "What? What else am I supposed to say?"

"I dunno, but 'defile'? Really? It's not like we're about to get down and dirty in the confessional," Faith whispered and Veronica had to hide her surprise at Faith's choice of words. "It ain't no big, V. We get in there, you plant the cam, and we get outta dodge post haste. It's not like you're coveting your neighbor's wife or anything."

"So far as you know. Mrs. Leonardi is three hundred pounds of sock-with-sandals-wearing fun," Veronica replied quietly, more focused on making sure they weren't causing a scene then on Faith's reaction. "And she _is_ always calling me dear, so . . . there could be something there."

"Hot," Faith said with a chuckle, then took Veronica's hand and led her down the side aisle until they reached the large wooden confessional booth.

"What if they see us go in there?" Veronica whispered harshly, still watching the praying women.

"Who, the Pious Five?" Faith asked, nodding out toward the women. When Veronica nodded, she continued, "They're too busy to notice or even care. Now come on."

Without any more ado, Faith opened the wooden door and peeked inside before stepping in and pulling Veronica along with her. It wasn't that the space was extremely small like most confessionals were, but with the two of them in there together, it definitely made for an intimate fit. Veronica took a quick glance around and then looked up at Faith, eyebrow raised in question.

"Is this really a two person job?"

"You seriously think you're gonna be able to reach high enough to plant the cam? Someone's in height denial."

That was when Veronica realized that Faith was right; there wasn't a chair or bench for her to stand on and the kneeler wouldn't boost her nearly high enough. Admitting defeat, she pulled the small camera from her pocket and checked the battery before holding it out to Faith.

"Just be careful when you attach it, you'll need to make sure you don't pull the wire ou-uuuuut, Faith!"

Veronica's harsh whisper and surprise didn't stop Faith from grabbing her around the waist and hoisting her up so that she could easily reach the back corner of the confessional. Her hands made a dull thump as they reached out for the back wall to steady herself, nearly crushing the camera as she did so.

"A little warning next time?" she whispered and shook her head when she heard Faith quietly chuckle.

"Hurry up, blondie. We ain't got all day."

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying," Veronica muttered quietly.

She double-checked that the camera was okay and then wedged it up in the corner of the booth, making sure that it wasn't overtly noticeable. When she was sure it was at the right angle, she turned it on and gave it a final adjustment.

"I'm going to hell. It's that simple. I am going straight to hell," she said, her voice a bit louder than she planned. Fear had a tendency of doing that to her.

"We can be bunkmates," Faith whispered in reply, then gently lowered her back to the ground.

Veronica gave the perfectly hidden camera one last once-over before turning around and facing Faith, giving her a pleased nod. She opened her mouth to speak . . . but was immediately interrupted by a low, male voice.

"Why do you think you're going to hell?" it asked.

Veronica's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open even more when she realized that the priest must have heard the soft thud a few moments back and entered his side of the confessional. She looked up to Faith whose eyes were also wide, but when Veronica tried to say something, only a soft squeak came out of her mouth.

Suddenly Faith's hand shot out and covered her mouth, preventing any more sound from following. She shook her head no and then used her other hand to indicate for Veronica to be quiet.

"Why do you think you're going to hell?" Father Patrick repeated patiently.

Veronica just nodded to Faith and Faith slowly pulled her hand away, making sure Veronica was really going to be quiet. A moment later Veronica watched as Faith took a deep breath and knelt down on the cushioned kneeler, elbows coming up to rest on the ledge of the shadowed window between booths.

"Uh, well . . . you know how it goes, Patty. Me and the big guy upstairs have some issues."

Father Patrick chuckled quietly, his voice gentle. Gentler than Veronica imagined any Fitzpatrick could be, even Faith.

"The Lord wants to forgive your sins, Faith. I've already told you that. All you have to do is ask his forgiveness."

Veronica raised her eyebrow. So Faith had been to confession before? Things seemed like they were about to get real interesting, especially seeing as that they were kind of trapped in there together. She rested back against the confessional wall and crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the unamused glare that Faith shot her way.

"I'll think about it," Faith answered evasively, and surprisingly Father Patrick seemed to be okay with that response.

"That's all I ask," he replied. "What about Buffy? Have you spoken with her?"

Again Faith quickly looked over at Veronica, probably hoping that Veronica wasn't listening, but she was. This could actually be beneficial, or at least that's what Veronica thought anyhow. It only took risking certain death for her to finally start finding out some things about Faith. Of course she was paying attention!

Adjusting her jaw a bit, obviously uncomfortable talking about it in front of Veronica, Faith looked back toward the shadowed window and took a deep breath.

"Nope. Not ready for that either," she answered vaguely.

Father Patrick tutted with disappointment. "Faith, I understand that you feel there is bad blood there, but she never would have invited you along to Los Angeles had she not wanted you there. It sounds to me as though she wants to forgive you, too."

Veronica watched as Faith visibly stiffened and did her best to avoid Veronica's gaze.

Father Patrick continued, "If you don't talk things out, discuss your feelings, then it's all a wasted opportunity to grow and move on."

"I have moved on," Faith answered evenly, guarded; her voice taking on a more argumentative tone. "I've moved on to Neptune and I'm tryin' to keep my family here from imploding. Far as I'm concerned, I'm doing what's important."

Father Patrick seemed thoughtful for a moment before replying, "Sometimes what's important isn't what's right. You need to work on yourself before you can help anyone else."

Faith sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She was obviously uncomfortable but Veronica was too invested now to pretend that she hadn't heard anything. Who was this Buffy person, and why did Faith seem so unwilling to speak about her? And what exactly did she need forgiveness for?

"Yeah, well . . ." Faith looked up at Veronica, "we'll talk about that another time, alright?"

Veronica got the message there and she nodded gently, trying to let Faith know with a single look that she understood; that she wouldn't push.

"Fair enough, Faith. Now if I tell you to say ten Our Father's and make an act of contrition, will you?"

Faith smiled and scoffed and then stood up, dusting off her knees. "Not a chance, cous. Not a chance."

Without another word, she grabbed Veronica's hand and quickly led them out of the booth and down the side aisle, earning only a quick look from an old woman near the front door who had only just walked in. She took in their appearance and then their joined hands and scoffed in disgust, obviously thinking the worst of the innocent gesture.

Faith rolled her eyes and let go of Veronica's hand and Veronica could see just how hard Faith was trying to keep back whatever comments were trying to fight their way out. Honestly, she was glad that Faith had some restraint. She didn't think she could handle whatever moral argument was about to happen there.

Instead, she followed Faith out to the street, not exactly paying attention to where she was walking. She had too much on her mind after what she'd heard in the confessional. Now she was starting to wish she'd planted a camera with a microphone to learn what might be discussed at Faith's next visit, presuming there would be one.

So lost in her thoughts, Veronica crashed right into Faith who had stopped unexpectedly on the sidewalk. It was like hitting a brick wall and Veronica began to stumble backwards. Faith seemed almost completely unaffected, standing there staring straight ahead, fists clenched tightly at her sides while Veronica tried to regain her footing. After a moment she made her way to Faith's side, and that's when she noticed the very empty parking space where Faith's car had been.

In its place, someone had painted an eyeball on the pavement in green paint.

A warning, obviously. Someone wanted Faith to know that she was being watched.

"I lived in LA for the entire summer and no one touched my car. I had to come to the 'burbs for it to get jacked," Faith said, shaking her head gently. "Guess the secret's out that I'm on Team Veronica."

"Just be happy no one's taped you naked to a flagpole yet," Veronica offered. Faith looked over at her and raised her eyebrow in question. "It's . . . nothing. Never mind. Did you . . . uh, should we call the police and report it stolen?"

Faith thought about it for a moment and then shook her head no.

"I'll just steal it back once I figure out where they've hidden it."

"You're sure it's them that took it?"

Faith pointed down at the painted eyeball on the pavement. "Pretty fucking sure." She sighed loudly and ran her hand through her hair, then turned to Veronica and planted on a fake smile. "Walk ya home?"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later they were already more than half way to Veronica's house. They'd been silent most of the journey, Faith only speaking up once to offer her jacket to Veronica when she'd shivered quietly. Veronica had wondered how Faith had heard the almost inaudible shiver but instead she shook her head no and thanked her for the offer.

They'd gone back to being quiet again after that but it wasn't exactly uncomfortable. Faith was obviously not in a great mood after what had happened in the confessional and after having her car stolen. Veronica had to admire the fact that she was able to keep her cool.

"You're remarkably cool after the night we've just had," Veronica finally spoke up, breaking the silence. "If I was in your place, I'd probably be in fetal position at the bottom of the church steps waiting for some bystander to call my Dad to come and pick me up."

Faith shrugged in the darkness, the small motion almost imperceptible.

"Ain't no sense in freaking out. I've done enough of that in my life. Only makes trouble, yunno?"

"Yeah, I get it."

They continued on in silence until Veronica just couldn't stand it any longer. She needed some answers to the burning questions in her mind before Faith closed off again.

"So . . . Buffy," she began casually, stealing a quick glance over at Faith who didn't react for the most part.

"What about her?" Faith asked after a moment, no sign of hostility in her voice.

It was all the go-ahead that Veronica needed.

"Well despite my complete lack of insight on her, I'm willing to bet that she wasn't some funnily named dog."

Faith chuckled at that and shook her head. "Nah, but she does have the habit of acting like a complete bitch every now and then if that makes ya feel any better."

"Maybe," Veronica replied, smiling too. "I'm taking it she's someone from your past then?"

"The not far-enough past, yeah," Faith said with a nod. "I was in LA before I came here. That's the last time I saw her. Kinda hoping distance will make the heart forgetful, or whatever."

"Don't you mean fonder?"

"Probably not," Faith answered, grinning. She drew in a deep breath and then looked over at Veronica, slowing her walk down to a stop. Veronica stopped too and faced her. "Listen, the story of me and B . . . it's complicated and kinda ugly. Not sure it's the kinda thing you wanna know about. Besides – long story."

"I've got the time," Veronica replied, smiling softly.

Nodding in understanding, they started a slow stroll - slower than they'd been going before - towards Veronica's house and Faith began at the very beginning of her friendship with Buffy. Traveling across the country to meet someone she'd only heard about from a mutual friend, trying to befriend her, always feeling on the outside; and then a big screw-up that had cost them their friendship and had made them proper enemies.

Boy did Veronica know about enemies.

And even though she could tell that Faith wasn't telling her everything, that she was missing some key piece of the puzzle, she still understood. She still felt for Faith and what had happened. Hell, she _was_ Faith, always on the outside and never quite fitting in.

But, Faith continued, they'd tried the friendship deal again once some time went by. Faith went back to help Buffy and her friend when they were in a jamb, and even though she'd helped them, she still felt like an outsider. Like the enemy. Time hadn't made it better, so now that she was in Neptune, she hoped that distance would.

"And that's basically the story of me and Buffy," Faith said as they approached Veronica's apartment complex.

"Sounds epic."

"Yeah, maybe without all of the horrible, messed up parts," Faith agreed with a nod and a wry chuckle. "But there's a lot you don't know, V. Stuff that ain't my business to tell. I probably wouldn't wanna even if I could cos honestly? Ya probably wouldn't believe it even if ya wanted to."

"Maybe," Veronica replied. She'd have to ask Faith about that another time. "But it sounds to me, and you can tell me if I'm getting it wrong here, but it sounds to me like she wasn't the only one hurt. She hurt you too, Faith."

She stopped just before the concrete walkway that led through the courtyard and turned to face Faith, who shrugged and slipped her hands into her pockets.

"Yeah. You're right. But I learned a good lesson from it all: if someone you love hurts you, you cry a river, build a bridge, and get over it. Ain't no sense in getting stuck on it forever."

And suddenly it all started to make more sense. This wasn't the case of two friends who had hurt each other. This was different; Faith had let slip her biggest secret yet.

"So it was love then," Veronica asked after a moment or two, trying her best not to sound accusatory. She guessed it didn't matter how it came across though because Faith didn't answer; she didn't react in any way whatsoever, which basically just affirmed Veronica's thought. Deciding that she didn't have much to lose, Veronica continued. "Is that why you're not there with her right now? Because you didn't want to face it for a second time?"

She noticed Faith's jaw clench just a little, but that was just a millisecond before Faith plastered on yet another fake smile.

"Ten points to the P.I's daughter. He teach you your keen powers of observiness?"

"No, this is all me," Veronica said, smiling softly. "But I get it. I won't push. If you ever want to talk about it . . ."

"I know where to find ya," Faith said, nodding up towards Veronica's door. "Better get up there before your Pops sics your pooch on me. I might be tryin' to keep on the straight and narrow but I ain't afraid to hit a dog if I have to."

Veronica opened her mouth in mock shock.

"You'd hit my dog?"

"In a heartbeat," Faith said, smiling.

Chuckling, Veronica began to head up the steps to her apartment, then turned to face Faith once again when she was just a few steps up.

"Hey Faith? I'm sorry if I pried . . ."

"Don't worry 'bout it, kid," Faith quickly interrupted, waving her hand between them. "I wouldn't have answered if I didn't want to."

"So we're . . . okay?"

Faith smiled genuinely, which eased some of Veronica's guilt for pushing her to talk.

"Five by five. I'll meet ya back here tomorrow morning, same time. But you get to drive."

She gave Veronica a quick wink and then turned around and walked off, disappearing into the night. Veronica watched her until she was out of view, then turned and climbed the remaining stairs, ready to call it a night.

There were still lots of holes in Faith's story; holes that Veronica was eager to get to the bottom of. But for now she was just happy knowing that Faith trusted her enough to start sharing her story.

Their unlikely partnership had an actual chance of proving fruitful after all.

And Neptune had a chance of actually surviving the coming storm.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Veronica looked down at her watch and groaned when she realized that she was running late. Faith had been meeting her at the house at the same time every morning for the last three days since her car was stolen and Veronica didn't want to disturb the routine. Not only did she have to get to class on time but she also had to deal with trying to make it past her increasingly nosey father who she knew was lurking around outside her bedroom door.

Hastily throwing the remainder of her books into her schoolbag, she hefted it over her shoulder and then took one last glance around the room to make sure that she had everything she needed. Besides school and work, she also had to find time to make it over to St. Mary's to retrieve the camera she'd planted there. With that in mind, she quickened her pace and opened her bedroom to come face to face with her smiling father.

"Good morning, sunshine," he said all too sweetly, then held out a glass of orange juice to her. "Thought maybe you'd like to have some breakfast with your dear ol' Pops this morning. Fresh squeezed orange juice and a batch of my world famous secret recipe special scrambled eggs."

Veronica had to take a step back to avoid crashing into him. Right away she knew it was some kind of ploy; he never waited at her door like that unless he was fishing for something. Add in his not-so-secret recipe eggs and she knew for sure that something was up. Considering that she was already running late, Veronica knew that she didn't have time to play along.

"I thought we went over this with your lasagna. Your secret ingredient is cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. And if you're buttering me up to ask me for a kidney or some of my liver, you can forget about it. I'm fairly sure that I'll be needing both to get me through the binge drinking and waking-up-in-my-own-vomit stage of college."

She gave him a dazzling smile before grabbing the glass of orange juice as she passed by, drinking it on her way to the kitchen.

Keith followed close behind her, not letting her slip away that quickly.

"Don't put those thoughts in my mind, Veronica. I'm an overprotective father who's getting ready to send my only child off to college. I take no moral issue with fitting your ankle with a combo GPS and blood-alcohol monitoring system."

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm choosing the new wardrobe you'll be providing for me after graduation," she replied, giving him as sweet a smile as he gave her just a minute before.

She finished the last of her orange juice and set the glass in the sink before making her way toward the door. She had the it nearly all the way opened when Keith finally caught up to her and stopped her dead in her tracks with a firm hand on the door.

"I've been very good about respecting your boundaries, Veronica," he said, his voice taking on a different tone now. Yes, this was definitely Overprotective Dad mode. "I haven't asked you who she is or why she keeps meeting you here despite the fact that she doesn't go to your school."

Veronica looked up at him and narrowed her eyes a little. It seemed that while she'd been trying to get to know Faith, Keith had been doing a bit of digging of his own. Before she could speak, he continued.

"Yes, I did some digging. To be honest, it hasn't produced much info."

"Because there's nothing to know," Veronica said dismissively. "And she doesn't go to school with me because she's not a student. Faith is just a friend and that's all there is to it. Now if you don't mind . . ."

She squeezed between the partially opened door and the wooden frame and was nearly scot-free when Keith spoke again.

"But I do mind, because what you're not telling me is that your new friend just happens to be part of the biggest crime family in this town." Veronica stopped dead in her tracks and let the impact of that sentence wash over her, cringing slightly. "I said the digging didn't produce much info; I didn't say it didn't produce anything. You should know me better than that."

"Dad," she began, her voice taking on a pleading quality as she turned to face him.

"I don't want to hear it," he said, interrupting her. "You're a smart girl, Veronica; that's why I haven't chained you to the sofa yet. If you're hanging out with her, it must mean you trust her."

"I do," Veronica quickly cut in. "She helped me out when I was in a sticky situation, and Dad, she's totally not like the rest of the Fitzpatricks. She's not even from around here. In fact, she only came to Neptune to help keep them out of trouble."

"As valiant as that may seem, it doesn't change the fact that she's one of them, and that gives the Fitzpatricks direct access to you through her."

"That's not why she's been hanging around me," Veronica said, shaking her head. "Liam . . . he has it out for me."

"I can't imagine why, seeing as that I told you to stay far away from him," Keith said drolly.

"Regardless, Faith is just making sure that I get safely around town until he backs off."

"I don't like it, Veronica."

"I know, and for the record, you know how much I hate feeling like the damsel in distress. But until this mess with the Fitzpatricks and the PCHers is over, it's a situation I don't mind dealing with."

Keith tilted his head to the side a little and stared at her, and instantly Veronica realized that she'd said too much. She tried her best not to cringe but couldn't help it under her father's intense stare.

"What mess?" he asked.

Veronica held his gaze for a moment, then looked down to her watch and out to the parking lot where she could see Faith resting up against her car, arms crossed and looking up at the two of them as if she could hear them. After a moment she looked back to her dad who was looking at her expectantly and very quickly losing his cool.

"What mess, Veronica?" he repeated. "There are three missing Fitzpatricks right now according to my source down at the station. Should the police be looking for bodies? Tell me what you know."

Veronica took a deep breath and tried to collect her thoughts. She had no idea about the three missing Fitzpatricks. Why hadn't Faith told her about them?

"Dad, it's a long story. I have no idea where the missing people are but I promise that I'll fill in the rest of the blanks for you. Problem is, I'm already running late for class. I work tonight so, tomorrow morning, maybe? Secret recipe special scrambled eggs and a chat?"

She wasn't sure that Keith would be entirely happy with that plan but the one thing she was certain of was that he wouldn't want her to be late for school. Not when she was so close to graduating and possibly earning the Kane scholarship. After a short stare down, Keith finally sighed and held out his hand for her to continue on her way. She gave him a thankful look and quickly made her way down the steps.

"For the record," he called out after her, "we're out of cheese. The eggs will be much less special tomorrow."

Veronica couldn't help but smile, both because of her father's comment and because of the look that Faith was giving her as she approached the car.

"I take it my cover is blown," Faith said.

"You heard all of that?" Veronica asked, surprised. She couldn't stop to wait for the answer though; she was really, really late now!

"I'm just observant. Well, that and your old man is givin' me a serious case of stink-eye right now."

"Which would be even stinkier if he found out you just referred to him as my old man."

"Noted," Faith replied with a nod.

Veronica let herself in the driver side door and waited for Faith to walk around the car and join her in the passenger seat before pulling away from the parking space. She glanced down at the digital clock on her dashboard and drew in a deep breath, exhaling it loudly. There was no way she'd make it to St. Mary's before school and actually make it to her first class on time. She'd just have to squeeze the trip in before work, which would undoubtedly make her late for her shift, but at least no one would send her to the principal's office for that.

They rode in silence until they reached the school, pulling into the mostly full parking lot. Students were still lingering near their cars and on the front lawn which was a good sign that she wasn't running as late as she thought.

"You're giving off some seriously tense vibes for this early in the morning," Faith said casually, gazing out the passenger side window at a group of teenagers nearby.

"Sorry," Veronica apologized. "But between school and work and the shady extracurriculars, I think I might just be starting to slowly lose my mind. Really, it's like the town only starts to implode when I'm busy with . . . well, life."

"I get that," Faith replied with a nod, then looked over at Veronica and smiled. "Which is why I already went to the church and snatched the camera for ya."

She tossed the camera over to Veronica who fumbled to catch it. Veronica glanced down at it for a moment and then looked over to Faith, smiling.

"Thanks. Not only does this save me time, but it saves me from the possibility of having my car stolen from in front of the church, too."

"Which is why I grabbed the cam before I got to yours this morning. Wish I could say it wasn't purely selfish, but honestly, I'm getting sick of walkin' my ass everywhere. Neptune sounds like a small town but it ain't when ya gotta walk everywhere."

Veronica laughed, "Where were you when I was trying to convince my dad to buy me a car when I was sixteen?" At Faith's chuckle, she continued. "Regardless, thanks for picking it up. I appreciate it."

"Ain't a big deal," Faith shrugged.

"And now comes the part where it sounds like I'm accusing you of something when I'm actually not."

Faith furrowed her brow a bit but indicated for her to continue. "Okay. Shoot."

Veronica unbuckled her seatbelt and turned as much as she could on the small seat so that she was facing Faith. "Why didn't you tell me that three of your family members have gone missing?"

"Probably because I only just found out about it from Patrick this morning and I didn't wanna bother ya with it before your classes," Faith replied. "Thought maybe they just flew the coop before things get too bad here. Guess I was wrong though cos Pat said they're pretty dedicated to the fam and that they wouldn't just up and leave like that. I dunno. I can do some checking around but all the boys are pretty tight-lipped around me these days."

"Because you've been hanging around with me," Veronica said rather than asked.

"Pretty much sums it up. They won't fuck with me cos I'm family, but they ain't gonna air their dirty laundry when I'm around either."

"That's probably good. Some of your cousins look like they haven't showered in months," Veronica replied, grinning a little. "I'm willing to bet that laundry is pretty ripe."

Faith chuckled but then continued. "You're probably right. Here's hoping that whatever ya find on that camera answers a few of our questions. Still ain't sure we should be trustin' your prematurely balding friend with his info, but I guess if he's right, we'll find out after ya have a sneaky peek."

"I hope we find something," Veronica said, shaking her head a little as she looked down at the camera in her hand. "I let it slip in front of my dad that there's something going on between your family and the PCHers. I bought us a bit of time but I'm going to have to fill him in over breakfast tomorrow, at least on some minor details."

"Okay," Faith said with a nod. "Pretty sure I've got a lock on where my car is. I'll do a little digging while you're at school today, see what I can find without it looking suspicious; hopefully get my ride back in the process. I just feel like . . .I'm missing something here." Faith trailed off, shaking her head lightly as she was trying to put some things together in her mind. "Yo V, there any chance one of your buds could go with ya to work today?"

"I'm pretty sure Wallace wouldn't mind so long as I bribe him with free cake," Veronica said easily.

"Good," Faith replied. "I'm gonna work on getting my car back and finding out what's up with my missing cousins. I'll meet ya at work at the end of your shift. Don't leave with out me, got it, kid? Something fishy is defo going on. I don't want you alone until we figure out what it is."

"Got it, ma'am," Veronica said with a mock salute. "The Veronica is to remain partnered at all times."

They exited the car and met around the back, watching as most of the students left the parking lot and lawn, headed toward the school at the sound of a loud bell ringing from within. When they were well and truly alone, Veronica reached out and touched Faith's bicep. It was soft yet firm at the same time; Faith obviously worked out.

A lot.

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"Faith, I know you're all gung-ho about helping to keep me out of harm's way, but please don't put yourself in its path because of me either. You're already putting your neck on the line. If you're going to snoop around, be careful. Please."

Faith smiled brightly, her arm flexing just a little under Veronica's soft touch before she slowly started backing away, keeping eye contact as she went.

"Don't worry, V. Careful is my middle name. Thanks for the concern though." She winked and then turned around, casually strolling through the parking lot and toward the street.

Veronica watched her go for a moment before calling out after her, "I thought you said that Danger was your middle name!"

Faith didn't turn around; she merely lifted up one arm and gave Veronica a backwards wave. Veronica didn't need to see her face to know that Faith was grinning.

Turning around with a grin of her own, Veronica hefted her bag over her shoulder and headed off into the school, ready to take on yet another busy day.

* * *

It was the second last period of the day and Veronica decided to skip her Phys. Ed. class to see what was on the camera. Anticipation had been eating at her all day long and she just couldn't take it any longer. She found a computer lab that wasn't in use and turned on her laptop, plugging in the drive from the small camera.

There was roughly twenty four hours of footage and she watched it go by on fast-forward, stopping to check out the random people who popped in from time to time. She was surprised to find Liam Fitzpatrick show up on the video not once but twice. Actually, the more she thought about it, she figured that with the amount of crime that he took part in on a daily basis, multiple trips to the confessional were probably in order.

It was only when, an hour or two later on the film, that Veronica saw a PCHer enter the confessional that she realized that something was odd. She watched the segment several times from Liam's visit until the PCHer's visit, and that was when she realized what that 'something' was. Pulling out her cell phone, she typed a quick message to Weevil and then set it back down on the desk next to her laptop.

She bookmarked the two segments and watched them several more times before Weevil showed up and leaned down with his palms on the desk beside her.

"What'd we find, V? And you better make it quick because I don't want to have to explain to my entire History class why I took ten minutes going to the bathroom."

"Watch, right here," she said, using a remote control to queue up the first bookmark. "Keep an eye on Liam's hymnal. The Lord giveth . . ." she pointed to the hymnal book that Liam placed in the rack beside the confessional window, then fast-forwarded to the second bookmark, ". . . and the stooge taketh away."

The next scene showed Thumper in the confessional, removing the book that Liam had planted just an hour before. Weevil watched the scene and then shook his head with disbelief.

"I could kill him," he said angrily as he plopped down onto the chair beside Veronica.

"But that would be counterproductive," Veronica said, closing the lid on her laptop so that she could get Weevil's attention. "Listen, now we know where the PCHers are getting the drugs from, or at least Thumper anyway. You can't take down Liam Fitzpatrick on your own. It would be stupid to even try. I say we turn this tape over to the police – anonymously – and let them handle it."

"And then what?" Weevil asked, exasperated. He stood up so quickly that the chair scraped backwards on the floor and then eventually toppled over with a loud clatter. "It doesn't prove anything, Veronica. Cops can't prove what was inside that book."

Veronica quickly realized that Weevil was right. Unless that book was still sitting there full of drugs and Thumper and Liam's fingerprints, turning in the video was useless. She opened her mouth to speak but Weevil cut her off.

"See? I'm right. There's only one way to handle something like this."

Before she could ask what way that was, Weevil stormed out of the room, intent on settle the matter on his own. Veronica knew better than to chase him, especially when that chase could lead her right into gang territory or worse.

Sighing, she did the only thing she could think of: she picked up her phone and called Faith. The other line didn't even ring; it went straight to a recorded voicemail message.

"_Can't answer. Leave one after the beep,"_ came Faith's voice from message, followed by a short beep.

"Faith, it's Veronica. I watched the video. Problem is, so did Weevil. We need to stop him before things get worse, and believe me when I say that yes, things are actually able to get worse right now. Call me."

She hung up her phone and set it to vibrate so that a meddling teacher couldn't swipe it away when it rang. Packing up the rest of her things, she tucked them away in her bag just as the bell sounded. Students began filtering out into the halls and Veronica joined them, headed off to her last class of the day. She anxiously looked up at the nearest clock as she passed by, hoping beyond hope that Faith would get the message in time to stop Weevil from doing something stupid.

* * *

It was almost five o'clock when Faith reached the junkyard that her cousin Sean owned. She'd been tracking down her stolen car from one point to another all day long, the rest of her cousins obviously playing with her by moving it from place to place. She hadn't been able to find out anything about the missing guys - Ian, Craig, and Ronan - and found that when she randomly brought up any of their names, everyone either got real quiet or told her not to worry about it.

It wasn't her business, they'd said.

So Faith followed the trail of her missing car and knew that she'd finally found it when she entered the massive, scrap-filled lot of Sean's junkyard. She only hoped she'd find it in one piece. Sure enough, she found the car - dirty but still very much car-shaped - near the very back of the lot. The doors were locked and the keys were in the ignition, but luckily enough she had the spare set in her jacket pocket.

She was about to unlock the door when something off to the side caught her attention.

It was completely ordinary, the small mound of disturbed dirt in the middle of the yard; ordinary except for the fact that she could tell that it wasn't supposed to be there. Neither were the two other disturbed mounds just a few yards away in either direction. Immediately her spidey sense started tingling for the first time since she'd been in Neptune. Either that or she'd simply been too preoccupied to notice it before then.

She really hoped that wasn't the case.

Stepping closer to the mound, she squatted down beside it and ran her fingers through the loose earth, pushing it this way and that as if it would reveal some huge clue. The mounds were clue enough though, especially seeing as that there were three in number . . . and that they were all big enough to fit a body.

The good thing was that there were no bodies in the holes now. The bad thing was that . . . there were no bodies in the holes now. Whatever had been in the holes was gone now, and Faith was starting to get a really, _really_ bad feeling about that.

Hearing the soft scuff of a boot against the dirt behind her, she quickly stood up to come face to face with a smirking Liam.

"Careful, little cousin. Girl's gotta be cautious in a place like this. Never know what could be lurking around in the shadows."

Feeling the tingle in her spine intensify, Faith took a step back and shook her head slowly.

"Oh, Li. What the hell did you do?"


End file.
